The Texans left tackle added a handful more miscues to the pile against Denver

Tunsil is NFL's most penalized player after loss to Broncos

Cody Stoots
Dec 8, 2019, 2:55 pm
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The Texans had a terrible day but it was especially rough for left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

He started out slow picking up some of the pressure against quarterback Deshaun Watson. That hasn't been constant through the season for the blind side protector. The penalties have been though.

NFLPenalties.com had Tunsil at 13 total penalties with 12 accepted against him on the season. He had nine false starts before the start of the game against the Broncos.

He would add three more false starts to the equation against Denver bringing his accepted penalties to 15 making him the most penalized player in football. His false starts alone would rank him tied for third.

The Texans would punt, settle for a field goal, and end the half on the drives where Tunsil was penalized.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said it had to be fixed.

"Laremy (Tunsil) has played very well, but he's had a lot of penalties. He'd be the first to tell you that," he said. "We've gotta continue to try to fix it. We've got to continue to try to help him. Nobody feels worse about that than him."

Last season for the Dolphins, Tunsil was penalized just 10 times. In 2018, the Texans also had the most penalized offensive lineman as Julién Davenport led all offensive linemen with 16 penalties. Tunsil's current number of penalties is 16.

This would seem to be not only a Tunsil problem but also a Texans offense problem. They regularly have a player in or near the top ten in offensive line penalties under Bill O'Brien. It would make sense for early season struggles, but this late in the season there shouldn't be issues like this creeping up for a veteran player.

Tunsil explained after the game he felt he was singled out by officials.

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LONE STAR RIVALRY

How the sports gods could split Houston, Texas right in half

The Coogs play Miami on Friday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Number one seed University of Houston is favored by 7.5 points over No. 5 Miami, and No. 2 University of Texas is favored by 4 over No. 3 Xavier Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Kansas City.

Talk about opening acts. If both UH and UT win, they’ll meet Sunday in a good ol’ WWE-style Texas death match for a berth in the Final Four at NRG Stadium in Houston. Thank you, Mr. Schedule Maker.

How much do you think Cougar fans would love for UH to get their hands on the Longhorns with so much at stake?

For one example, let’s go back to the future, Oct. 21, 2023, when Big 12 rivals UH and UT meet in football at TDECU Stadium on the Houston campus. The game already is a lock sellout with tickets in the upper deck commanding $141 per ticket on the secondary market. It will be UH’s first year in the big boy Big 12 and UT’s last go-around before heading to the SEC.

One last opportunity for lasting bragging rights.

That’s for a UH football game. At home. Where the Cougars typically have trouble packing half the house. For example, the Cougars will be hosting the Sam Houston Bearkats at TDECU Stadium a month earlier. Tickets for that game, the same exact seat going for $141 against UT, can be had right now … $17.

Yeah, there’s something special about UH getting the opportunity to face UT. In anything. Anywhere. And it’s been a long time since the two teams, once co-members of the Southwest Conference together, have met on the basketball court. A full decade, in fact. The last time they played was March 20, 2013 with the Cougars prevailing 73-72 in something called the College Basketball Invitational. The UH coach was James Dickey. UT was coached by Rick Barnes. Joe Young led the Cougars with 18 points. The Horns’ leading scorer was Julien Lewis with 28. UH finished that season with a 20-13 record. UT limped home at 16-18.

That was then, this is now. The UH-Miami game will air at 6:10 p.m. Friday on CBS with UH grad Jim Nantz calling the play-by-play. The game will alsO stream on Hulu +++. ESPN’s BPI (basketball power index) gives the Cougars a 90 percent chance of winning. We’ll take it.

The UT-Xavier game will follow at 8:45 p.m. on CBS. The Horns have a 70 percent chance of beating the Musketeers. If both chalks come through, they’ll meet Sunday afternoon with the game on CBS.

The Cougars have made six Final Four appearances: 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2021. The Horns have made three Final Fours, the last time two decades ago.

Here’s the only sure bet if UH and UT meet Sunday - get to your sports bar early if you want a seat. This could be memorable.

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